Campaign urges governor to promote solar power

Nearly 20 Coastal Bend residents, including city officials and business leaders, were among those who signed a letter urging Gov. Rick Perry to help solar power develop in Texas.

CORPUS CHRISTI - Nearly 20 Coastal Bend residents, including city officials and business leaders, were among those who signed a letter urging Gov. Rick Perry to help solar power develop in Texas.

The letter, organized by statewide group Environment Texas, asks Perry to encourage incentives for people to install solar panels and for solar businesses to locate in Texas. The state Public Utility Commission should set a goal of developing 1,000 megawatts of solar power by 2015 and 5,000 megawatts by 2025, the letter says.

“Texas has what it takes to be a national leader in solar power,” the letter says. “We have the most solar radiation in the country, are home to the world’s largest supplier of solar-grade silicon, and are innovators in the high-tech industry.”

Jeff Pollack, a sustainability specialist and member of the Bay Area Smart Growth Initiative, signed the letter and spoke at a news conference Wednesday at City Hall to announce the campaign.

“We see solar figuring prominently into that vision of a more sustainable Coastal Bend community,” Pollack said.

Environment Texas also released a report Wednesday on Texas businesses that can contribute to a statewide push for solar energy. One local business, Third Coast Solar, is included in the report.

Corpus Christi recently lost a potential solar module factory to Michigan because that state offered a larger incentives package.

Texas is in ninth place among states for use of solar power, according to Environment Texas. Among local leaders who signed the letter were assistant city manager Oscar Martinez, senior city planner Lisa Wargo, five Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi professors and a Del Mar College professor.

“The state of Texas and our area have great resources for making solar power an economic and job-creating reality,” Hunter said in the letter. “I believe it would be a great goal and positive effort to do what we can to encourage bringing solar energy jobs to our state and our area.”